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NoGo
Outside of the safety of PZ Territories is the vast wasteland of deserts, mountains, and wilderness that make up the NoGo, This is the lawless region of the united states, covering most of the central US in a vast desert, bordered by mountains and wilderness that separate whats left of 'Civilized' life in America. Life in the NoGo While many clamor to the suffocating safety of PZ Territories there are those who are too poor, hate authority, desire freedom, and many other besides that live in the NoGo, here there is little security and people make their lives in any way they can from sprawling junk settlements to wrecked cars. The people of the NoGo endure a tough life and while many dream of collecting enough money to move into the safety of a PZ Territory, few ever manage their dreams, suffocating under toe costs of electricity, food, and clean water. Humans, Robots, and Mutants live in the vast wastelands, each building a life however they can, for some this is finding somewhere that crops will grow and building a little life around their Shotgun, others join Gangs in the hope of finding a family to protect them and nurture them, sadly few ever reach their dreams in this harsh land. Gang Life (See Gang) She hit the gas hard to press forward, the Renegades V8 surged and she raced toward the makeshift finish line, laying mines behind her in the hopes of slowing her opponent down. She had too win, the Maniax would protect her if she did and her opponent would have too move on and search for safety elsewhere. Surviving in the NoGo is tough and many choose to join Gangs in the hope that they will find safety in numbers, though rarely do Gangs seek safety, instead they live on the edge, making raids and stealing to support their lifestyle. Gangs offer a home and safety from their own members, as well as from other gangs, cults, and savages that populate this Wasteland. Cult Life (See Cult) Darius stood on the stage looking over the gathered crowd, all of them seemed desperate to hear his words and that made him smile, the voice resounding in his mind "they will love you", he could feel the rush in the depths of his heart as he raised his hands to the sky and declared "I will save you all in my paradise of flesh and desire!" There are many very desperate people out in the NoGo, living at the very bottom of civilization, here the most desperate will grab onto anything that seems like a ray of hope in their bleak lives. There are more than a few people out in the NoGo who believe they are the messenger of higher (or lower) beings, as well as the crazy and manipulative types that prey on peoples desperation out in the harsh wastelands. Settlers The Sheriff sat in his old armchair out on the side of the dusty mainstreet watching the settlement begin to wake up, the last few weeks had been quiet and even a little peaceful, so he was expecting trouble ahead. As Harveys Barbers opened he decided to pull himself from his chair and wander over for what Harvey claimed was coffee and maybe even a little shave, when he felt it, that little shrinking feeling deep down, off in the west he could just make out the dust clouds of vehicles speeding this way, "guess that shave ll' have t' wait" he muttered as he grabbed his shotgun. Not everyone in the NoGo is cruel or deluded, many are just trying to find their place in the world, these Settlers will often come together to form some semblance of a civilized way of life. Whether that's a frontier style township or a new culture, many such settlements have formed or simply survived since the decline of the world. Some of the more civil settlements even have Sheriffs that keep the peace, and even councils of leaders that maintain the lifestyle of their peoples. Savages Dagger lay among the rocks looking at the tents beyond, how lucky he was, just 4 of them sat in the night eating their canned filth. He gestured to his Dogs to begin creeping round the perimeter of the light and they obeyed, Dagger loved the bit that comes next, the screaming and gleaming red that nourishes him, time to eat, he smiled before leaping from his hidden perch. Out in the NoGo food and safety are hard to find and many resort to savage methods to get what they need, some become lone savages, while others will group together into clans and tribes for strength. Savages are often spoken of in rumour and campfire stories, sneaking into settlements and camps at night to drag off victims for sport or food, though not all are in truth cannibals, though enough are for the stories to be true. NoGo Settlements Throughout the NoGo small settlements have been built by communities that grow to provide mutual protection to each other, some of these places even have their own form of Policing, though often these 'Police' are little more than armed Settlers or worse organized Mafia, Yakuza, or Gangs. Ruins Settlements Through the gauss that constituted a window Leia could see the skeletons of once beautiful skyscrapers, now stripped bare by the relentless sand, the city seemed as though it was at peace this early in the morning, fires that blazed in the night had faded to embers and the cold night was giving way to the sun. She had always loved the morning, so many would miss its splendour sleeping off the awful booze they had imbibed in the night, now was her hour she thought as she strapped her SMGs to her legs, "wat ya' got for me today?" She mused. The crumbling edifices of Cities abandoned in the NoGo provide many Settlers with a ready built frame for a town, these grow quickly due to the availability of buildings to inhabit, but crime is rife in the dark streets and alleyways of these Settlements, the Black Market operating in ruined buildings on the outskirts of these places, and Gangs roam the streets at night serenading the stars with bullets and broken glass by the light of burning cars and muzzle fire. Most that live in these Settlements come for the ease of finding a shelter from the cold nights and fierce Acid Rain, almost anything worth anything can be found in these places but prices are high, especially for advanced tech, while Ju-Ju Men slope in the darkened corners of clubs and bars offering Baby-Blues for a small fee, its easy to lose your way here but this is where the money is. Junk Settlements (See Slum City) Zack was carrying quite a large pack of supplies on his back as they followed the shaman, moving to new ground was always tough, the last water hole had be used until it was dry and now they were walking in the evening sun every day, waiting for the shaman to tell them to dig. This day had been dragging on now for what seemed like hours and all Zack could see was the Shamans back from here, when the Shaman stopped and began to chant as if to some far off temple, then he raised his staff and stamped it into the ground, it was time to dig at last. Built from the scrap of old structures, cardboard boxes, and wooden pallets these Settlements spread over the Desert and are usually centered around a water source or close to the Highway wherever possible. Life here is cheap and the poor prey on the weak to survive, though these places are heavily populated but the most destitute they are also the most common places to find free Robots, and even Mutants in the NoGo, and in the Deep Toxic Zones these sorts of Settlements are the most common form, populated entirely by Mutants and Robots these places can sometimes even seem peaceful at times. Junk Settlements are not always stationary as houses fall down and are built the Settlement can seem to drift slowly across the land moving a few miles a year, while always staying where the resources can be found, stolen, or traded. Money is very valuable in these places but product is thin on the ground and High Tech Equipment is virtually impossible to find. Wrecktowns (See Wreck Town) It was almost noon and the suns rays blazed down on the metal roofs all across the settlement, in this heat few were moving out of the shade, and much of the narrow paths were covered by tattered cloth to try and keep the heat from burning them. All across the settlement the stink rose in time with the sun as they poured sweat, most trying to capture all they could in rusted cans just so they could drink something today, everyone hoping for a wreck to happen and bring some fresh supplies. Conflict on the roads leads to stripped out wrecks being ploughed off the road to allow transport trucks to get through, this often leads to dozens of Wrecks piling up on the edges of the Highway, these places quickly become Settlements with people moving in and taking residence in burnt out Wrecks or putting up surrounds between two or more to create a palace in the wreckage, Humans, Robots, and Mutants live in these settlements on the border of the Highways in hopes that a Wreck will happen and they can strip out everything of value to support their meager lives. There are numerous Wrecktowns scattered along the Highways of the NoGo, but most are populated by the desperate scavengers of others, Baby-Blues and Zoom Juice are common here as the bottom of the ladder in the NoGo drink and drug themselves into their own personal Oblivion, but Cults find these places excellent resources for gathering those with nothing left to their Word, with many desperate people willing to listen to anything that sounds like happiness. The Wasteland Despite being vast the NoGo is also barren and few places are habitable, most settlers cling to what little they can, and often significant distances separate them, though the Highway acts as a guiding line for finding them. Outside the PZ The night revealed the gleaming light of the PZ on the horizon and Hector looked on from the edge of town, it had been barely a month since he had lost Ada to the Gangs, and he could not bear to stay there, Humans don't believe that Robots can love, but at least out here among those he now rubbed shoulders with in the narrow lanes that constituted roads among the makeshift houses nobody cared or even noticed that he was a machine, the town elders had even granted him a job watching for Enforcers that plan to shake down the unfortunates he now called friends. Not far from the safety of the PZ territories is often cluttered with settlements, these places live off the scraps that make their way beyond the fences, and frequent visits from wealthy PZ citizens makes for good income if you have something to trade. Such places are often densely populated by those who have abandoned civilization or wish to get into it, dreams fuel those who live in these areas, though most give up on them eventually in place of mere survival. The Open Road The road lay through the settlement and though traffic is rare Jessie still looked along the road before darting across, several new Wrecks had been pushed off and people fought for what little there was to scavenge, so he waited for the chassis' to be abandoned before moving in. Only one peaked his interest, once a pickup it was now on its side and lacked anything that once made it a vehicle but he would have a home now. Much of the US has been claimed by desert and increasingly arid soil, but the Highways that cut across the land are still valuable to the corporations, trucks laden with goods use them to carry their precious cargo from city to city. Settlers often find the roads to be one of the few places where life can be sustained by what is lost on the Highway, and many hope that the roads will lead them to their dreams, or at the least a better life than they have. Deep into the NoGo Dax had been charged with watching the hills to the south, and he was glad, the scene was beautiful, the mountains gleaming in the dying light of the day, and the calm was his ointment. His skin hated the high sun, so the evening was softer and cool, he felt a sense of happiness out here, but he wondered if those hills hid the gleaming cities of old that the elders spoke of from long ago. Out away from the safety of the PZ, and far from the Highways there are places where the land is not yet uninhabitable, out in the depths of the NoGo these places are rare and hard to find, settlements that form out here are more often composed of Mutants and/or Robots, rather than Humans. Many of these places keep themselves hidden, but their safety also makes them isolated, so much so that some know nothing of the state of things beyond their borders, and often they like it that way. Toxic Zones The Wasteland is littered with places where Radiation from Nuclear Tests and Failing Reactors, Toxic Spills, and Chemical Waste make the air and water poisonous for Humans to live in, but even despite these dangers there are those who live in these extreme places, Mutants and Robots are immune to the Radioactive Water and Toxic air and they have begun to claim these places as their own, building Settlements and growing mutated plants. Mutants build settlements in Toxic Zones to find safety from the ridicule and torment of Humans, while Robots Settle here to be free of the Companies that made them and live in peace away from Humanity. While many Settlements in these places are populated by both Mutants and Robots, there are places where the only people are Mutants and still others where Robots reign supreme, each living in their Utopia. but the hardships of the NoGo are not lost and those that find these places are rarely able to see the good as the hunger, thirst, and sickness push away their ideas of Utopia. Mixed Settlements Settlements where both Mutants and Robots live are common in the Toxic Zones of the NoGo, people huddled together for safety, here Robots find they are not treated as second class citizens as the Mutants are fleeing the tormenting live with Humans, this results in many Mutants and Robots living in peace, but food, water, medicine, and parts are hard to come by here and scraping out a living brings its own hardships. These Settlements are rarely stable with Settlers coming and going so frequently that the entire population can change in just a few years, and sickness can cause these settlements to collapse into Robot Settlements quickly, or disappear entirely. Mutant Settlements Plenty of Mutants seek to rid themselves of the Civilized life of the Human and even abandon technology for simpler lives, these Settlements are much like any other with the only exception being the entirely Mutant population, though the NoGo favors nobody and soon the signs of Cults and desperation filter into these places. Populations of Mutants are low and those that choose this live are fewer still making Mutant Settlements rare, and the threat of Sickness and Hunger can destroy these settlements as the people flee their fears, and perhaps carry a disease to another community. Robot Settlements Increasingly in the most Toxic Places of the NoGo these Settlements are forming, entirely Robot populations coming together in the belief that they can wait out the end of the world and rise to become the dominant for on Earth in the distant future, here order grows quickly, and some Robots who fled the PZ Cities quickly find them more oppressive than the corporations, while others are free of any order and chaotic plans and designs run rampant as they express their thoughts. Robot Settlements quickly find a point where they either become strong and a community of sorts will form or the settlement will collapse and the Robots will again scatter into the Wasteland in search of a new dream. The Black Market (See Black Market) In the NoGo trade is often fraught with risks, and the Black Market of stolen and raided goods from the PZ doubly so, but without it much of the settlements would be using little more than sharp sticks to fight off the Enforcers and wilderness. The Black Market allows the denizens of the NoGo to get hold of tech and food, that is otherwise hard to find, and though premium prices are often paid for such goods its hard to argue with a well armed trader. It is also rumoured that Corporations like Gen-Tech also make use of such markets as a test bed for new untried bio-technology and clinical procedures on. See Also Humans Mutants Robots Gang Cult Ops Team History Black Market PZ Index Dark Future: Living Rulebook Wiki References Dagger and his Dogs Darius: Lord of Desire Dax: Mutant Watchman Hector and Ada Jessie Baunum Leia: Arizona Angel Maniax Zack Dune